1.4 million children malnourished in South Sudan, says Save the Children

• South Sudan is experiencing “its worst food crisis since independence from Sudan in 2011”.
• Save the Children urged the international community not to “overlook South Sudan or to divert funding to other crises”.
• The charity said that the value of the local currency had fallen by over 40 percent this year.

Save the Children, a British charity reported on Friday that about 1,4 million children under five in South Sudan are malnourished due to extensive flooding and inter-communal strife.

It was stated that the youngest country in the world, which has a predominantly rural population, is experiencing “its worst food crisis since independence from Sudan in 2011.”

“The situation has deteriorated in recent months with more than 615,000 people impacted by an unprecedented fourth consecutive year of large-scale flooding, destroying homes, crops,” Save the Children said in a statement.

Children and women are disproportionately affected by cases of malaria and snakebites, according to the report.

According to the organization, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes by flooding and a vicious cycle of frequently lethal interethnic warfare, which urged the international community not to “overlook South Sudan or to divert funding to other crises.”

On Tuesday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations reported that flooding had affected around 909,000 people in nine states.

Like many nations in sub-Saharan Africa, South Sudan has suffered due to the war in Ukraine, which has driven up global food and gasoline prices.

Save the Children said that the value of the local currency had fallen by over 40 percent this year.

In March, the UN’s World Food Programme warned that more than 70 percent of South Sudan’s 11 million inhabitants would face extreme famine this year due to natural catastrophes and fighting.

Save the Children urged leaders who plan to attend the November COP27 climate meeting in Egypt to enhance financing to assist vulnerable communities and children in building resilience against climate-related disasters and shocks.

“The first generation of South Sudan children are growing up now, and we must not fail them by allowing South Sudan to become a forgotten crisis,” said country director Jib Rabiltossaporn.

South Sudan, although possessing substantial oil reserves, is one of the world’s poorest states and has spent over half of its existence at war.